Fame intoxicating but you sober down too: Dharmendra

Dubbed as an actor who has delivered a lot of hits in his long career, Dharmendra says money and fame were never criteria for him or his children.

File photo

Mumbai: Veteran actor Dharmendra says fame can be intoxicating but one can avoid getting trapped by staying true to one's roots.

Dubbed as an actor who has delivered a lot of hits in his long career, Dharmendra says "money and fame" were never a criteria for him or his children. 

"We don't know how to do rat race. Fame is intoxicating. It goes to your head but you sober down too. We are not addicted to it," Dharmendra told PTI in an interview.

"But love is a passion which makes a home in hearts. That is what happened with us. People can't remove the home we have built in their hearts. They will feel for us. My audience is my family. They feel a lot for me," he said. 

The 82-year-old actor said he knew only one way to be -honest and polite. It is something that his two sons - Sunny and Bobby, have also inherited from him, he said.

"I haven't done any drama in my life. I've been honest and giving. We haven't left our roots, nor we ever will. My parents taught me this and I've taught my children. To respect everyone and be polite. We are blessed to be like this." 

The actor said another reason for his relevance may be his decision to avoid camps.

"It's a cut throat competition... there's too much of it. We weren't part of any groups, we associated with people we liked and distanced from the ones we didn't. We have hugged people who were deemed weaker because we loved them.

"I never got into any group not proclaimed that I'm number one. Never. Here you have to blow your own trumpet but neither we did that nor asked someone else to do it for us." 

Dharmendra, who returned to films after a gap of three years with "Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se" recently, does not feel a biopic should be made on him. 

"My story will be remembered anyway, why do we need a biopic? Definitely, there is a story full of various elements -- a small village boy comes here and achieves all of this and still remains the same. I will think of it."